The Crawlspace
by weatherbyp
Summary: Percy just wants to play with big brothers, Bill and Charlie. Bill says he may, under one condition. Muggle!verse AU. One-shot. Complete.


Author note: Harry Potter and all associated characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am American, I try to do justice to the more obvious language differences like mum/mom, football/soccer/ect., but there will still be Americanisms. Apologies in advance.

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"There it goes!"

A gaunt rat squeaked in fear as it darted into a dark hole underneath the Burrow, framed by foliage and rocks. Two young, red-headed boys dashed from the garden after it. They came to a skidding stop, kicking up gravel in front of the hole. They dropped to their hands and knees to peer in.

"He's there!" Charlie said, eyes shining. "I can see his eyes!" Light reflected off two blinking green dots in the darkness.

"How are we supposed to catch it now?" Charlie whined, his nose wrinkling, as they both sat up. Bill puffed out his cheeks, looking at Charlie up and down. At nine, Charlie was too big to fit into the crawlspace.

"What are you guys doin'? Can I play?" The two looked over their shoulders to see their six-year-old brother Percy. His week-old, oversized glasses sliding down his freckled nose. He pushed them up with forefinger, blinking at them. Charlie groaned, Percy followed them everywhere like a shadow.

"No, you can't." Charlie snapped. "Go away, Glasses!" Percy frowned at the new nickname, his glasses slipping down again.

"No, wait!" Bill called as Percy turned to storm off. "You can play with us." Percy grinned and trotted over to them eagerly.

"What're you playing?" He asked. Bill pointed to the hole.

"You can play with us on one condition. You crawl in that hole and get something for us." Bill said. Percy looked into the whole with wide eyes. "You can do that right, Perce? Unless you're scared?"

"I'm not scared!" Percy blurted. He fidgeted with the hem of his dirty, blue tee shirt, eyes darting from the hole to Bill and back again. "But, mum says we're not supposed to— "

"If you're gonna tattle, you can't play with us!" Charlie threatened. Percy bit his lip.

"So" Bill asked after a few minutes, crossing his arms. "Are you going in or not?"

"I will." Percy said, meekly. He kneeled and began to lower himself into the crawlspace.

"All the way back, there's a rat there, grab him!" Bill called as Percy crawled further into the darkness on his elbows and knees. The space became narrow and tight. He coughed from the thick dust that filled the air as he moved.

"Do you see it?" Charlie asked from outside. Percy looked around for the rat, it was sitting beyond arm's length, blinking at him. Its nose quivered before it scampered down into a hole where only a rat could follow. Percy coughed again.

"It's gone, it ran away!"

"Go after it!" Charlie yelled.

"I can't, it's too small." Percy heard his brothers' groaning.

"Well, come on back then." Bill said, standing. Percy tried to squirm backwards, but sharp wire caught his shirt and grazed the skin on his back.

"Ow!" He stopped at the pain, then tried to move backwards again. The sharp wire dug further into his skin, drawing blood. "Oww!" Percy whined.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked by the opening, back down on his hands and knees to peer into the inside.

"I'm stuck!" Percy cried from the darkness. Bill kneeled again, a hint of fear in his irritated voice.

"Stop joking around, Percy," He yelled into the crawl space. "get out here!" Small whimpers began to turn into sobs. Charlie looked up at Bill with wide eyes.

"I don't think he's joking, Bill."

Bill paled. The fear of one who has done something behind a mother's back and is about to be caught etched all over his face. Bill and Charlie went from pleading to angry scolding, but Percy was stuck.

They decided to wait a while to see if he could somehow wriggle himself out. Thirty minutes later they went meekly to their mother when she called them in for lunch. Molly went to the crawl space, scolding Bill harshly as he followed her, the entire way. Charlie stayed inside to watch the little ones. Percy cried for her and she tried to urge him out with sweet words and promises of biscuits, but Percy was stuck.

Molly called Arthur home early and he started bringing up the floor by early afternoon. Late that night he pulled Percy from the dust and dirt underneath the floorboards. He was stiff and trembling, sobbing into his mother's arms, refusing to look at either of his brothers. Both looking guilty and blubbering a long stream of apologies. Molly bathed him, attended to his cuts, hunger and thirst and readied him for bed.

Percy begged Molly to sleep with him, because even though he had a big boy bed, he did not want to sleep alone with Charlie across the room. She looked over at Charlie who was watching with guilty brown eyes. Molly rubbed Percy's thick curls from his face, knowing there were little ones waiting for her. She told him his brothers loved him and would never wish him harm. She kissed his nose, placed his glasses on the bedside table and pulled the thick quilt up and told them both goodnight. Percy pushed the crushing quilt off, despite the cool summer night.

The next morning, Bill and Charlie offered to play a game of tag with Percy, but he did not want to play their rough games. Late afternoon, Charlie approached Percy again, where he sat on the couch in the living room. This time with a worn box under his arm.

"Wanna see what's in here?" Charlie asked, holding up the box. Percy shrugged sulkily, a beginner reader book in his lap. Charlie took the contents out and set the board and pieces up on the coffee table in front of the couch. Percy looked on with interest at the black and white pieces.

"It's a chess board. It's like checkers, but advanced." Charlie told him, speaking gently. "Only for big kids." He added, seeing Percy's blue eyes fill with interest.

"I'll teach it to you. Wanna play?" Percy watched the board and the pieces for a moment. Then he smiled gingerly and nodded, placing his book next to him. He scooted to the edge as Charlie began to explain how the pieces worked.

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AN: I've read other stories where Percy has claustrophobia and wanted to explore the idea, including how it came about.


End file.
